The lead singer of a classic rock band that is among the biggest-selling of all time – and who also had six Top 20 solo hits -- will complete the lineup for the opening week of the Sands Bethlehem Event Center, the venue just announced.

Glenn Frey, who sang The Eagles’ breakthrough hit "Take It Easy" and No. 1 songs “New Kid in Town” and “Heartache Tonight,” then topped the charts solo with “The Heat is On” and “You Belong to the City,” will play the event center on May 18, the venue announced on its website, www.sandseventcenter.com.

Glenn Frey

Tickets, at $59.50, $79.50 and $99.50, will go on sale at 10 a.m. March 16 at www.SandsEventCenter.com, www.Ticketmaster.com, the Sands Bethlehem Event Center Box Office on the street level at The Shoppes at Sands mall or by phone at 610-625-5500 or 800-745-3000.

Since reuniting The Eagles in 1994, Frey rarely performs solo.

The fan site www.glennfreyonline.com says that outside of benefit concerts, he has not mounted a solo tour since 2006 and only played a half-dozen solo shows (half as duets with fellow Eagle Joe Walsh) after that – none since 2009.

In fact, The Eagles also have tour dates set for this spring.

Frey’s show means the event center will have events the first five nights it’s open, starting with the May 16 concert by alternative rockers Incubus. That will be followed by The Beach Boys Reunion Tour on May 17, country superstar Alan Jackson on May 19 and blink-182 on May 20.

The venue also will have Flogging Molly on May 24 and Paul Anka on May 27. In all, 14 shows have been announced for the venue.

Gerald R. Deifer Jr., one of the event center’s founders, said Frey’s show is the final piece in the venue’s opening week.

“Glenn Frey on May 18th concludes our Grand Opening Celebration and shows a multi-genre line up with music to appeal to all generations,” Deifer said. “Still plenty more to come.”

In addition to the chart-toppers Frey also sang The Eagles hits "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Tequila Sunrise," "Already Gone” and "Lyin' Eyes" and also had the solo hits “Smuggler’s Blues” and “True Love.”

The Eagles sold more than 100 million copies of their seven studio, nine compilation and two live albums, putting the No. 5 on the all-times best-selling list, behind only The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Garth Brooks and Led Zeppelin, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Its album “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975” is the No. 6 best-selling disc of all time, with nearly 30 million copies sold in the United States alone. Its album “Hotel California” also sold more than 16 million copies.

Frey’s first two solo albums, 1982’s “No Fun Aloud” and 1984’s “Allnighter,” both sold gold status.

Concert set lists on fan websites show Frey plays both his songs and Eagles hits in his solo shows.

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.